Haunted Dreams
by TheRealBatman
Summary: Rumpelstiltskin utilizes the magic of True Love to attempt to reunite with Belle. Set after the events of Skin Deep and before the season one finale.


At last, it was finished.

Rumpelstiltskin leaned back in his chair and admired his glowing handiwork contained inside the glass vial. True Love, the most powerful magic of all, was now his to control.

The difficult part had been gathering the key ingredients. Once the hairs of Snow White and her Prince Charming had been procured, it had been relatively simple to convert the condensed magic into a more malleable form. In it's current state, the magic could be utilized in any manner he desired, be it blessing or curse.

Rumpelstiltskin carefully twirled the vial in his hands, observing the way the magic danced inside. The substance swirled about the bottle, the consistency caught somewhere between a liquid and a mist. It radiated an ethereal glow of its own, as though it were lit from the inside. Rumpelstiltskin smirked as he continued to toy with the bottle. True Love would be colored purple. It was often so flamboyant, after all. If he'd had his druthers, he would have much preferred a more subtle shade of blue

The smirk vanished as his mind strayed to images of a dress the color of a late summer sky, and a woman with a smile so warm it would have put the sun to shame.

When Belle had first left, he'd fought hard to keep from thinking about her. He didn't have a drop of tea for weeks afterwards, and he avoided stepping foot in his library all together. Any reminders of her presence in the castle, in his life, were actively ignored. The one thing Rumpelstiltskin found he couldn't bring himself to do was to reinstall the heavy curtains over the windows of the estate. Each time he attempted to, each time he so much as glanced at the damned fabric, his hands would itch with the memory of her body pressed against his own. He would recall the deep rise and fall of her breasts as she struggled to control her breathing after the terror of her sudden drop. The way her fingers had unconsciously stroked the back of his neck as she had thanked him for catching her. After a few attempts with the curtains, each resulting in the same unwanted flood of memories, he had given up and avoided them entirely.

After the Queen's visit, everything changed. He no longer strove to ignore or eliminate the reminders of Belle's existence. Rumpelstiltskin welcomed them. Specifically, he welcomed the pain, remorse, and guilt that accompanied them. He deserved the agony that came from remembering. It was his penance for all the ways he had wronged her, for being unable to save her. The chipped cup, now his most precious possession, sat in a place of honor in his spinning room, and the table in the entry hall displayed a constant bouquet of red roses. The curtains stayed down, now out of intention rather than defeat.

The glass vial stilled in Rumpelstiltskin's hands as his eyes strayed to the porcelain cup perched atop the center pedestal. As strong as True Love was, there was no magic in existence powerful enough to bring back the dead. The darkest of magic could reanimate their corpses, but their essence, their very souls–Once lost, there was no bringing them back to this world.

Rumpelstiltskin had never been a particularly spiritual man. Still, when one's business is in the art of magic and "miracles," one can't help but develop something of an open mind. His eyes darted between the vial and the chipped cup as his thoughts began to entertain an impossible idea. True Love may not be strong enough to bring his little Belle back, but perhaps it was strong enough to let him see her one last time. He could afford to use a few drops for himself. The rest would be for the curse. The rest would be for Bae.

Mind set, Rumpelstiltskin stood and headed for the kitchen. Perhaps he'd brew some chamomile. Belle loved chamomile.

*****

He hadn't expected the magic to change his appearance.

Rumplestiltskin scrutinized his hands, turning them over as he inspected their lack of scaly exterior. Although, in hindsight, he supposed it only made sense that it would. If True Love's kiss was enough to cause the transformation, then the magic itself would surely give him back his original form.

He would have continued to stare idly at his hands had a noise not caught his attention. He glanced up, registering that he was in his bedroom before his eyes found the source of the sound.

Belle. She was here.

Blue eyes took him in, wide with shock and confusion. She was dressed in dark blue shift, wrapped snugly around her curves with a long slit up the side, revealing the pale length of one shapely leg.

Rumpelstiltskin couldn't stop the smile from coming to his face as he took a step towards her. It had worked. She was here.

Belle's eyes darted quickly around the room, before coming once again to rest on him.

"Is this... Heaven?" she asked.

Rumpelstiltskin flinched as if she'd struck him as the impact of her words hit him full force. Of course. Of course that was where she'd been, before he'd put his insignificant needs first and selfishly pulled her spirit away. He'd never given much thought to the concept of a heavenly afterlife, especially after seeing the carnage wrought on by the Ogre Wars, but if such a place did indeed exist, there was no one who deserved to be there more than Belle.

Slowly, he reached out a hand to tentatively stroke her cheek, his thumb catching a tear that had just begun to fall. "It is now," he said, answering her the only way he knew how to. She smiled tremulously at him, reaching out a hand to return his caress. "Who broke your curse?" She asked, as she gazed at his human appearance. Rumpelstiltskin caught her hand in his own, marveling at how very real she felt as he brought her fingers to his mouth for a kiss. "It was you, sweetheart. It was only ever you. This was how I should have looked for you."

Belle gave a watery laugh as she leant in closer to him. "Silly man. It was never about changing your outside. It was about freeing what was inside."

Rumpelstiltskin stared at her in wonder for a moment longer before his resolve broke with her words. He pulled her length to his as his mouth sought hers urgently, the months of longing and loneliness and regret pouring out of him into their embrace. Belle met him eagerly, wrapping her arms around his neck as she pressed her body even closer to his.

Rumpelstiltskin's hands slid down the length of her sides, catching and stroking on curves he'd barely dared to dream about. His tongue swept across her lower lip, begging for entrance into her sweet mouth. Belle opened with a gasp and he plunged inside, groaning at his first real taste of her. She tasted honeyed and decadent and so fucking real that he could have come from that alone.

Belle's tongue gently stroked his as his hands strayed to her lower back, each of them groaning as he molded her hips to his own, the proof of his arousal evident between them. Their mouths broke apart for air, but Rumpelstiltskin couldn't bear for his lips to leave her skin, trailing hot, open kisses down the column of her throat. "Sorry," he groaned as he nipped lightly at her, "can't wait. Missed you. So much."

Belle's response was to grip his hair and drag his mouth back to hers, kissing him fervently as she began to pull the pair of them back towards the bed. He followed her eagerly, his hands leaving her body only long enough to brace their fall as they tumbled onto the sheets. Belle's hands began to tug impatiently at his shirt while his went to work on the stays of her dress. Breathless laughs and appreciative sighs filled the silence as they worked together to undress each other, removing every tangible barrier between them until they were both gloriously, blessedly bare.

Rumpelstiltskin finally paused as he gazed down at her, his mouth going dry as he watched a blush spread from her delicate face down to her perfect breasts. In three hundred years, he'd never seen anything as beautiful as her in this moment, breath heavy with desire and lips swollen from his kisses. Belle cupped his face and brought his eyes back to hers, smiling at him with more love than he'd ever deserved. He bent his head and kissed her, slowly this time, savoring the feel of her body beneath his.

His hand ghosted from the curve of her hip up to cup her breast, drinking down her gasps of pleasure as his thumb swept over her nipple. The coral tip pebbled beneath his touch, and he tugged gently as Belle's gasps turned to moans. Rumpelstiltskin returned his lips to Belle's neck as his hand ventured further down her body, caressing the planes of her stomach and skimming across her thighs before stroking one finger across the outer lips of her core. Belle gave a moan that went straight to his cock and he growled as he caught her earlobe between his teeth. Growing bolder, he stroked deeper, producing a moan of his own at the wetness he encountered. His little Belle was soaked for him, and he felt his restraint begin to crack at the tangible evidence of her desire for him. Slowly, he slid his finger into her center, gasping at the feel of her clenching around him. His thumb searched through her curls until he found the bundle of nerves hidden beneath. Belle's body jolted at the first touch to her clit, and her eyes sought his as he stilled his hand.

"Do—do that again," she whispered. Rumpelstiltskin let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and swept his thumb over her once again, curling the finger inside of her slightly as he pressed even deeper. Belle bucked her hips instinctively against his palm and he began to increase his pace, sliding a second finger in to join the first as his thumb kept up a steady rhythm against her.

Belle's cries rose in volume as he worked his fingers in and out of her, her hands clutching at his shoulders as he worked to bring her pleasure. Rumpelstiltskin dropped his head to her breast, his hand never ceasing as his mouth enveloped one rosy tip. He swirled his tongue around the bud and Belle arched her back, her breath catching on a sob.

"Rumple... Please, I need..."

He gave her breast one last gent tug with his teeth before pulling back to respond. "That's it, sweetheart. Let it happen. Come for me, Belle. I need to you to come for me."

Rumpelstiltskin stroked harder, his gaze never leaving her face as Belle reached the peak of her pleasure, his name a broken cry on her lips as she rode the waves of her orgasm. He eased her through it, his caresses gentling as she came down from her high. Belle opened her eyes and gave him a dazed smile. "I love you," she said softly.

Her words broke through the last of his control, and Rumpelstiltskin covered her lips with his own as he positioned his body over hers. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. "I love you, Belle. So much."

She spread her legs beneath him, welcoming him into her embrace. Belle threaded her fingers in his hair as he positioned himself at her entrance, nodding her assent before he began to ease himself into her wet heat. Despite her previous orgasm, Belle was still incredibly tight around his length, and Rumpelstiltskin bit back a groan as he sank deeper, forcing himself to go slowly. Her face was tense as he sheathed himself fully inside of her, and he held himself still, giving her time to adjust to him. When her expression cleared, he withdrew slowly before sinking back down, her body welcoming him back with slightly more ease. Belle gasped at the friction, raising her legs instinctively to wrap around his hips.

Rumpelstiltskin closed his eyes with relief as he felt her body begin to respond to him, pulling out again only to thrust back inside, the new position allowing him to slide even deeper. He set up a steady rhythm, slow and deep and slightly rough, stoking the embers of her previous climax until Belle was gasping with pleasure and meeting his hips thrust for thrust.

He felt his own orgasm approaching, and he braced one arm against the mattress as the other slid between their bodies to stroke above where they were joined. He rubbed at her center, Belle's slick desire easing the motion as he caressed her in time with his thrusts. Belle cried out, her walls clenching his cock as she came hard around him. Rumpelstiltskin increased his pace, his thrusts becoming fast and shallow as he tumbled over the edge with her.

He collapsed onto the bed, barely having the sense to move to the side of Belle lest he crush her before pulling her into his arms. He held her to him, unwilling to let the glorious moment end.

"Don't leave me," he murmured as he struggled to remain awake, his eyes already betraying him as they slipped closed.

"Never," Belle whispered lovingly, her soft kiss the last thing he felt before he succumbed completely to slumber.

********

Rumpelstiltskin stretched languidly, his arms searching blindly for Belle across the expanse of the bed. When he felt nothing, he forced his eyes open, bolting upright as he took in his surroundings. The first rays of dawn had begun to spill across the room, illuminating his solitude. The chipped cup sat on a table near the bed, remnants of the tea he'd mixed the True Love magic with staining the bottom of the porcelain.

One night. A scant handful of hours with his Belle was all the magic had allowed him before throwing him back to his grief. Rumpelstiltskin gripped the cup in hands, the chipped rim piercing the skin of his palm as he wept in the harsh silence of the morning.

********

Several kingdoms away, Belle shivered and clutched her blanket closer, struggling to cling to the fragments of a dream that had seemed more real than she'd thought possible. She touched her fingers to her lips, the feel of their kisses still emanating through her. She curled tighter into herself, shutting her eyes to the markings she'd made on the walls of her cell, too numerous even to count anymore.

"Rumpelstiltskin, come and find me."


End file.
